ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Forestry Commission

Elliot Morley: Following last year's review of the administrative arrangements for forestry since devolution, I decided, with the Forestry Ministers in Scotland and Wales that the functions of Forest Enterprise, a Forestry Commission executive agency which operates across Great Britain, should be transferred to separate bodies in each country. Forest Enterprise ceased to operate on 31 March 2003 and a new agency called Forest Enterprise England, responsible for the management of the Forestry Commission estate in England, came into being on 1 April 2003. The agency will work to the targets set for Forest Enterprise in the Forestry Commission Corporate Plan for England.
	Following a separate review of the Commission's Forest Research agency, Ministers agreed that a single body, covering the whole of Britain, continued to be the best way forward. The agency's five-year review concluded that it enjoyed strong support from its stakeholders, particularly for the quality of its research, scientific services and development work. New framework documents for these 2 agencies will be published shortly.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Road Scheme Inquiries

Tony McNulty: With the agreement of the Lord Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Transport I wish to make an announcement concerning the Lord Chancellor's Panel of Independent Inspectors. This follows informal consultations with relevant parties. From today I have asked the Planning Inspectorate Executive Agency to take on full responsibility for arranging for suitable Inspectors to carry out public inquiries into proposed road schemes.
	The Lord Chancellor has nominated Inspectors for road scheme inquiries since acceptance of a recommendation in the 1978 White Paper on the handling of the 1970s roads programme. The Planning Inspectorate was established as an executive agency in 1992, bringing with it the high standards of impartiality, openness, and fairness that are a hallmark of the work of the Inspectors.
	The Planning Inspectorate has established a deserved reputation for the independent and impartial way it conducts inquiries. That is rightly regarded as key to the process of public participation at inquiry stage which the Government recognise s and values. I therefore have every confidence in asking the Agency to take on the task of arranging for suitable Inspectors to carry out road inquiries. And that confidence will, I know, be shared by all holding an informed view of the process.
	The Planning Inspectorate places great importance on employing Inspectors with an appropriate range of technical skills. Over the last few years it has recruited as Inspectors a number of highly qualified and experienced men and women. Their expertise now covers a wide area including planning, the environment, architecture, engineering, housing and transport issues. Such high quality recruitment is a continuing feature of the Agency's profile.
	This change will provide greater flexibility for the Planning Inspectorate to manage resources more effectively, enabling it to deliver an enhanced service, whilst maintaining and improving quality.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Terrorism and Civil Resilience

David Blunkett: On Tuesday 1 April, in a meeting held in Washington between myself and US Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, we reached agreement on key issues which will lead to unprecedented co-operation and sharing of intelligence between the UK and US Governments.
	Our two countries have agreed to set up a Joint Contact Group of senior officials who will drive a joint programme of work, including how best to share knowledge and resources. This will make a significant, practical contribution to the fight against international terrorism, building on the excellent co-operation we already have on security and intelligence issues.
	The new Joint Contact Group of senior officials will meet regularly to ensure that a joint programme of work is focused and on track. The work of the group will cover:
	Closer working on the development of biometric technology such as iris and facial recognition.
	Pooling of knowledge and resources, such as vaccines, to counter chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.
	Strategies to prevent and deal with cyber/electronic attacks.
	Joint forward planning and exercise programmes to test out different scenarios.
	Greater protection for borders through visa and passenger intelligence sharing.
	Continued prior warning of changes in alert states.
	Today's agreement between Tom Ridge and myself will significantly contribute to the steps which both the US and UK Governments are taking to combat international terrorism, and will allow real, practical preparations to be made against future threats, for the benefit of our citizens.

LORD CHANCELLOR

Her Majesty's Land Registry Key Performance Indicators and Targets 2003–04*

Rosie Winterton: My right hon. and noble Friend, the Lord Chancellor has today set the following key performance targets for Her Majesty's Land Registry for 2003–04.
	Customer Service
	Speed:
	Percentage of office copy and official search applications processed within two working days: 98 per cent.
	Percentage of all registrations processed within 20 working days: 80 per cent.
	Accuracy:
	Percentage of registrations processed free of any error: 98.5 per cent.
	Overall Satisfaction: 1 
	Percentage of customers who, overall, are very satisfied/satisfied with the full range of services provided by Land Registry: Better than 94 per cent.
	Financial
	Percentage return on average capital employed: 6 per cent.
	Efficiency 2
	Cost per unit in cash terms 3 (real terms) 4 : £29.08 (£22.17)
	Strategic
	Start pilot implementation for e-Discharges
	Make all key Land Registry information services available over the Internet
	Critical Action Points:
	Implement the Land Registration Act 2002
	Report to Ministers on proposals for e-conveyancing services and procurement strategy
	1 Results from YTD monthly mini satisfaction survey and Customer Service Survey 2002
	2 This is a milestone towards the HM Treasury-agreed cost per unit target for 2006–07 of £28.62 in cash terms (£20.27 in real terms).
	3 Based on the GDP deflator issued by HM Treasury on 23 December 2002 (base year 1992–93)
	4 The real term unit cost in the base year of 1992–93 was £30.65
	*More information on these and other key targets is published in the Strategic and Business Plans.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Council of the European Union

Denis MacShane: Date Location Event 
		
		
			 APRIL   
			 2 Brussels Meeting of the Presidium 
			 3–4 Brussels Convention Plenary 
			 4 Brussels Justice & Home Affairs 
			 4–6 Hania (Crete) Informal ECOFIN (Ministerial) 
			 5 Lisbon Europe-Africa Summit 
			 10 Brussels Meeting of the Presidium 
			 14–15 Luxembourg General Affairs & External Relations 
			 14 Brussels Agriculture & Fisheries 
			 16 Athens Signature Of The Accession Treaty 
			 17 Athens European Conference 
			 23 Brussels Meeting of the Presidium 
			 24–25 Brussels Convention Plenary 
			   
			 MAY   
			 2–4 Olympia Gymnich (Informal Foreign Ministers) 
			 3–4 Athens Informal Environment (Ministerial Informal) 
			 5–6 Brussels Education, Youth & Culture Council (To be confirmed) 
			 8 BrusselsCorfu Meeting of the Presidium Agriculture (ministerial Informal) 
			 12–13 Brussels Competitiveness 
			 12 Brussels EUROGROUP 
			 13 Brussels ECOFIN 
			 14 Brussels Meeting of the Presidium 
			 14 Brussels Transport, Telecom & Energy Council 
			 15–16 Brussels Convention Plenary 
			 16 Brussels EU-ACP Ministerial 
			 16–17 Halkidiki Informal Regional Policy (Ministerial) 
			 16–18 Cruise off Greece Informal Transport & Merchant Marine (Ministerial) 
			 17 Brussels EU-W. Balkans (Zagreb Process) 
			 19 Brussels General Affairs & External Relations (+ Defence) 
			 20 Brussels General Affairs & External Relations 
			 22 Brussels Meeting of the Presidium 
			 24 Thessaloniki Informal culture (Ministerial) 
			 26–27 Brussels Agriculture & Fisheries Council 
			 26–27 Crete EUROMED Conference (Mid Term Ministerial) 
			 27 Brussels Environmental Council 
			 28 Brussels Meeting of the Presidium 
			 30–31 Brussels Convention Plenary 
			 31 St. Petersburg EU-Russia Summit 
			   
			 JUNE   
			 2 Brussels EUROGROUP 
			 2–3 Brussels Transport, Telecom & Energy Council 
			 3 Brussels ECOFIN 
			 4 Brussels Meeting of the Presidium 
			 5–6 Brussels Convention Plenary 
			 5–6 Brussels Justice & Home Affairs Council 
			 5–6 Brussels Employment, Social Policy, Health & Consumer Affairs Council 
			 6 Rhodes Public Administration (Ministerial Informal) 
			 11 Brussels Meeting of the Presidium 
			 11–12 Brussels Agriculture & Fisheries Council 
			 12–13 Alexandroupoli Development-Co-operation (Ministerial Informal) 
			 12–13 Brussels Convention Plenary 
			 13 Brussels Environment Council 
			 17–18 Luxembourg General Affairs & External 
			 20 Halkidiki EUROPEAN COUNCIL 
			 21 Halkidiki Zagreb II Summit 
			 22 Brussels General Affairs & External Relations 
			 24 Brussels Employment, Social Policy, Health & Consumer Affairs Council 
			   
			 JULY   
			 2–3 Rome Research (Ministerial Informal) 
			 4–5 Naples Transport Infrastructure (Ministerial Informal) 
			 6 Brussels Trade (Ministerial Informal) 
			 10 Varese Varese Informal Council/Troika Informal Council of Ministers of Labour and Social Affairs 
			 15–16 Brussels ECOFIN 
			 10 Varese Informal Council/Troika 
			 11–12 Varese Ministers of Labour & Social Affairs 
			 15–16 Brussels ECOFIN 
			 17–18 Treviso EU Employment Committee (Informal) 
			 18–20 Montecatini Energy & Environment (Ministerial Informal) 
			 22–23 Brussels Agriculture & Fisheries Council 
			 22 Brussels General Affairs & External Relations 
			 24–25 Milan European Conference on Discrimination 
			 25–26 Verona Education (Ministerial Informal) 
			   
			 AUGUST   
			  No Meetings Planned 
			
			 SEPTEMBER   
			  Viterbo Telecommunications (Ministerial Informal) 
			  Stresa ECOFIN (Informal Council) 
			 19–20  Justice & Internal Affairs (Informal Council) 
			 22–23  Competition ( Internal Market, Industry & Research) 
			 29–30  General Affairs & External Relations 
			 29–30  Agriculture & Fisheries Council 
			
			 OCTOBER   
			 2–3 Brussels Justice & Internal Affairs 
			 7 Brussels ECOFIN 
			 9–10 Brussels Transport, Telecom & Energy Council 
			 13–14 Brussels General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) 
			 13–14 Brussels Agriculture& Fisheries Council 
			 16–17 Brussels European Council 
			 20–21 Brussels Employment, Social Policy, Health & Consumer Affairs 
			 27 Brussels Environment Council